Char Aznable
, born Casval Rem Deikun is one of the main characters from the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in Mobile Suit Gundam and later becomes one of the protagonists of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In his final appearance in Char's Counterattack, he assumes leadership of the Neo Zeon movement, named after his father Zeon Zum Deikun, and becomes the titular antagonist of the film. Throughout his life, he is also known by the aliases Edward Mass and Quattro Bajeena. In addition, he is given the nom de guerre of " ", for his performance at the Battle of Loum during the One Year War. Personality & Character Char has several recognizable characteristics: # has blonde hair. # often wears red clothing. # usually wears a mask or a pair of sunglasses to adequately hide his true identity. # usually pilots red-painted (or, arguably pink-ish) mobile suits. An exception to this is the MSN-0100 Hyaku Shiki, which is painted in bright gold-yellow colors; Gundam MK-II, which is painted white and black; and the MSN-02 Zeong, which was painted in a lavender-gray color scheme. # sports a small, diagonal scar between his eyes (incurred during a sword fight with Garma Zabi during their academy days, which was used as an excuse for the head gear Char first wore to hide his identity. Argued that it was caused by Amuro Ray during a sword duel but in fact the strike was blocked by Char's helmet.) # is never shown driving a car throughout his appearances. # often suspected of ephebophilia (not to be mistaken for pedophilia), as supposedly exemplified by his relationship with Lalah Sune (whose age is 17, and, according to Tomino's novel Secret Rendezvous: Amuro and Lalah, was discovered by Char working as a prostitute), and Haman Karn, who was 14 at the beginning of their relationship (Char himself was in his early 20s), as detailed in the manga Portrait of a Young Comet - Char's Deleted Affair. Char also swayed the disillusioned Quess Paraya (13 years old according to Gundam Official Guide) during the events of the movie Char's Counterattack, where Quess latched onto Char after being rebuffed by Amuro Ray in hopes of learning from famous Newtypes. Tomino has categorically denied all these claims. # By the time of Zeta Gundam, he has had four different names, his birth name Casval Rem Deikun, Edward Mass - the name given to him when he whisked away to avoid being targeted by the Zabi family, Char Aznable - the name he'd bear for much of his life, and finally, Quattro Bajeena which is ostensibly his fourth alias (quattro is Italian for "4") #''Gundam'' creator Yoshiyuki Tomino publicly confirmed at Anime Expo New York 2002 that the name Char Aznable is inspired by French singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour (シャルル・アズナブール). Skills & Abilities History Char Aznable is also known as Quattro Bajeena and Edward Mass, but was born with the name Casval Rem Deikun. He is also known as the Red Comet, due to the speed at which he destroyed five of the Earth Federation's Magellan class battleships at the Battle of Loum during the One Year War (which has earned him a promotion of two ranks to lieutenant commander). He is the elder brother of Artesia Som Deikun (Sayla Mass), and the son of late Zeon Zum Deikun, the former leader of the space colonies of Side 3, later the Republic of Zeon. Origins According to the Manga Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, young Casaval and his sister Artesia escaped to earth shortly after their father's death with the help of Jimba Ral (the father of Ramba Ral). They spent several years living a life of luxury as wards of the aristocratic Don Teabolo Mass, who gave them the surnames Edward Mass and Sayla Mass and treated them as his own adopted children. During this time, Jimba Ral constantly reminded Casaval of the Zabi Family's betrayal of the Deikuns. After narrowly escaping an attempt on their lives (in which Jimba Ral died), they fled to the Texas Colony. They lived for a time in a house set up by Texas Colony's chief manager Roger Aznable, still under Teabolo Mass's care. Soon they met Roger's son Char Aznable and discovered that he and Casaval were nearly identical, except Casaval had blue eyes while Char had reddish brown. Eventually Char is taken in by Gihren Zabi's propaganda, and against his father's wishes sets off for officer training school. Casaval decides to accompany him under the guise of looking out for his friend. Kycilia Zabi finds out that Casaval is headed back to Side 3, and without consulting Gihren, orders Casaval's death. Both near identical boys are booked to leave on the same flight, but an antique pistol and fake explosives are found in Char's bag (almost certainly planted by Casaval). Not wanting to miss the entrance exam, Char readily accepts Casaval's suggestion to swap clothes in the restroom. Char boards the ship under the name Edward Mass, while Casaval, under the name of Char Aznable is detained overnight. Shortly after departure, the ship explodes and kills everyone aboard (no doubt the work of Kycilia's henchmen). Edward Mass is listed among the dead and Casaval takes on the name "Char Aznable", enters the Zeon Millitary Academy and begins wearing sunglasses to hide his eye color (as it wouldn't match any of the real Char's IDs). It is important to note that the canonical status of the novel is questionable, as Sunrise has clearly stated only animated works are officially canon. Mobile Suit Gundam 0079]] During the One Year War, Char showed great potential not only as a mobile suit pilot ace, but also as a tactician and charismatic commanding officer. After coming back from a routine mission, Char discovered the Pegasus-class assault carrier White Base on approach to Side 7. As Char was sent into the colony at Side 7 to investigate, he and his men discovered that the Federation had begun testing several prototype mobile suits. Against his orders, two of the men under his command began attacking the Federation research facility. However these same two pilots were later killed after a civilian boy named Amuro Ray took control of the Federation's Gundam mobile suit in desperation. As Char was taking pictures of the Guntank, he was held at gunpoint by his sister Sayla Mass. However after revealing his face to her he was able to knock the gun out of her hand and quickly escape. Although several of the prototype mobile suits were able to escape aboard the White Base, Char would return to his Musai cruiser and continue to pursue them. Char launched several attacks against the White Base while it was en route to Earth. It was here that Char would first encounter his soon-to-be rival, Amuro Ray. Although Char easily outclassed the inexperienced Amuro, the sheer technological superiority of the Gundam prevented him from destroying either the mobile suit or its carrier ship. After several failed attempts to take out the White Base in space, Char daringly attacked it once more during atmospheric re-entry. Although the attack failed it succeeded in diverting the White Base from its intended destination forcing it into Zeon-controlled North America. In North America, Char joined up with Garma Zabi, commander of the Zeon forces in the area. Char entered battle in his Zaku once more as the White Base attempted to flee North America via a path through Seattle. During the battle Char was quick to notice that the White Base was sheltered in an old half-destroyed sports dome, and that the Gundam was intent on luring Garma's GAW Attack fleet right into the assault carrier's intended barrage. Seeing his chance to finally exact revenge on the Zabi family, Char deliberately misinforms Garma of the White Base's location and leads him straight into the trap. White Base's near-endless and brutal attack on Garma's Gaw Fleet is swift and relentless, taking Garma completely by surprise. In these final moments Char discretely contacts Garma and passionately confesses his treachery, laughing menacingly as Garma's GAW crashes into the ground. After Garma's death, Char was briefly taken out of military service for his supposed incompetence of defending Garma. However, as the war began to slowly shift into the favor of the Earth Federation, Char was pressed back into active duty once again at the behest of Kycilia Zabi. He was given command of Zeon's Mad Angler submarine squadron and was again sent out to destroy the White Base. After tracking the ship over the Atlantic Ocean, he discovered the White Base was docking at the Federation's military headquarters in Jaburo. After gathering all available forces in the area, Char personally led a large scale assault on the base using his MSM-07S Z'Gok Commander Type. The battle still ended in failure as few mobile suits even made it into battle before being shot down by the base's formidable defenses. Although Char personally made good progress into Jaburo he was eventually forced to retreat when he again came face to face with Amuro Ray, whose piloting skills had considerably improved since their last battle. After the encounter, Char once again tried to inflict heavy damage upon Jaburo, this time by sneaking in and planting several explosives throughout the facility. His plans were again foiled by the crew of the White Base. However, in his retreat he again ran into his sister. Although he had little time to talk, he gave her a strong warning to leave the Federation before aborting his mission at Jaburo. Later in the war, Char develops a relationship with the Newtype Lalah Sune, a girl he saved from an Indian brothel. Char also develops into a Newtype himself and subsequently forms psychic bonds with both Amuro and Lalah. Continuing his hunt for the White Base Char boarded a Zanzibar-class mobile cruiser and tracked the White Base into orbit. He eventually followed the ship into the neutral territory of Side 6. Inside the colony he by chance encounters Amuro Ray in person for the first time. Amuro's car had become stuck in a ditch on the side of the road and Char and Lalah offered to help him out. Although Char and Amuro were both aware of each others identities nether spoke openly about it. While Amuro was frightened by the encounter Char did not attempt to harm Amuro in any way and allowed him to return to the White Base. After the Battle of Solomon Char ventured from Side 6 to the Texas colony of Side 5 where Colonel M'Quve had set a trap for the Gundam. Once inside Texas Char was given a MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type which would finally allow him to fight on even grounds with the Gundam. However when the battle came Char found himself outclassed by Amuro, whose skills and newtype abilities had now come to surpass his own. After the death of M'Quve and taking sever damage of his own Char was forced to flee the battle with his life. While leaving Texas Colony Char notices Sayla driving a jeep while looking for Amuro. He then jumps into the jeep as it passes by and forces her to stop at gunpoint. Finally having chance to talk he tells her his reasoning for joining the Zeon military: that he has done so in order to infiltrate the Zabi family and seek revenge for the death of his father. Char then tells Sayla that she needs to leave the White Base because he does not want her to get hurt, and that war "doesn't suit her". As Char leaves the colony he gives her a case filled with gold and tells her to live a peaceful life on Earth. Late in the war as the Earth Federation fleets begin their advance on the Zeon homeland of Side 3, Char assists Lalah on numerous sorties against the Federation. During one battle Lalah had engages the Gundam with her Elmeth mobile armor. As the battle progresses Char gets sent in to back her up. He then proceeds to fight the Gundam and nearly destroys Amuro's wingman piloting a Core Booster. However as he goes to strike down the fighter he gazes into the cockpit and notices that Sayla is the pilot. Realizing he is about to kill his own sister he quickly jets out of the way only to have his mobile suit crippled by the Gundam as a result. As Amuro pulls out his Beam Saber he flies towards Char in order to deal the final blow. However, not wanting to see him killed, Lalah rams into Char with her Elmeth, knocking him out of the way. Although this saves him the beam saber hits Lalah's mobile armor instead of Char, killing her instantly. Returning to the Zeon fleet Char yells and cries over the death of his lover. Now having a deep hatred for Amuro, he vows to get revenge in the next battle. Before the Battle of A Baoa Qu, Char would receive the prototype MSN-02 Zeong. Char and Amuro's bitter rivalry comes its peak in Mobile Suit Gundam. They engage in an inconclusive mobile suit battle and then a sword duel after both lose their mobile suits. In the duel, Char manages to stab Amuro in the arm, while Amuro attempts to stab Char. Char's helmet protects him from the blow, contrary to what the majority thinks (His scar left from the fight is in fact not due to the sword, it was dealt by Garma Zabi when the two were training). Sayla runs into the room and urges both men to stop. Char realizes he's been distracted by his rivalry with Amuro and refocuses on his true enemy - his vendetta on the Zabi family. An ensuing explosion knocks them apart but Char does rush off to save his sister. After being told by a dying Zeon soldier that Kycilia Zabi, the last surviving Zabi, is escaping, Char tells Sayla to "be a nice woman" and go back to Amuro, and takes off with a bazooka in his hands. He finds Kycilia's departing ship and salutes them ("Garma, I'm sending your sister to join you. Consider this my farewell gift.") before firing. This one final act of revenge results in the annihilation of the ship's that gruesomely decapitates Kycilia in the process. He then disappears amidst the explosion. At the end of the One Year War, Char went into Axis after the Zeon lost the war, his goal of revenge achieved by a combination of his own actions, those of his rival Amuro, and infighting among the Zabis themselves. In Axis, Char is asked to lead the remaining Zeon soldiers, not knowing of what he did to the Zabis. Instead, he defers the leadership to Haman Karn, making her Regent of Mineva Lao Zabi in the process. However, Char grows weary of Haman's rhetoric of reviving Zeon and abandons Axis. Zeta Gundam Char reappears seven years later in Zeta Gundam, scantly disguised by replacing his mask with a pair of large sunglasses and using the alias "Quattro Bajeena". Some time between UC 0079-0087, Char infiltrates the Earth Federation Forces as Axis Zeon's spy, presumably this is where he started to use the alias Quattro Bajeena. However, things are turned upside down with the subsequent creation and rise of the oppressive Titans. Char then joins a renegade Earth Federation Forces group eventually becoming its founding member. The group is called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG). This time, rather than serving as the rival of the new protagonist of the series, Kamille Bidan, Char serves as Kamille's mentor in the war against the Earth Federation's oppressive Titans military arm. Furthermore, Char becomes a trusted ally of his former adversaries in Mobile Suit Gundam: Amuro Ray, Hayato Kobayashi and Bright Noa. He serves under Bright Noa as leader of AEUG mobile suit forces. Zeta Gundam prominently portrays Char's image as a charismatic hero who is always willing to stand up and fight for the freedom of spacenoids. His political speech in front of Federation Assembly in Dakar, which was broadcast throughout the Earth and the space colonies, is one of the most highlights in the UC Gundam timeline. It cements Char's total commitment toward space colonization and migration of humanity into space. It is also in that same speech that he publicly denounces the Titans claiming them to be barbaric and have no regard for the people they hurt; justified by the Titans attack on the Assembly itself, even though many key politicians of the Federation were still inside at the time. This made public opinion turn against the Titans. Despite AEUG's victory in the Gryps War against the Titans, Char is defeated in the final battle by Haman Karn, leader of the emerging Axis (later Neo Zeon) faction and assumed dead. However, as the final credits roll, Char's badly damaged mobile suit floats by, its cockpit hatch mysteriously open implying it to be empty. Bright Noa remarks that he has a gut feeling that Char is simply watching from the sidelines and waiting for the right opportunity to return center stage in UC affairs. Char does not appear in the sequel to Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam Double Zeta. Yoshiyuki Tomino has stated officially that he had originally intended to feature Char in Double Zeta, but the plan was canceled when he was granted the go-ahead with the theatrical feature Char's Counterattack. Char's Counterattack 0093]] Another five years passed before Char returns in the movie Char's Counterattack, as the leader of the revived Neo Zeon faction. The opening scenes of the movie shows his intention to drop the massive asteroid base Axis into the Earth, forcing a dramatic increase in migration of its population into space, which he believes will force all of humanity to evolve into Newtypes. Only one thing stands in his way: the Earth Federation's elite Londo Bell task force, led by his former superior and ally Bright Noa, and the Londo Bell's top ace pilot, his old arch-rival Amuro Ray. Both Char and Amuro pilot mobile suits equipped with an advanced Psycommu system known as a Psycoframe. Amuro's RX-93 Nu Gundam was also installed with the system with the blueprints to the Psycoframe technology purposely provided to Anaheim Electronics by Char himself. This effectively sets the stage for the much-awaited showdown between the two rivals. In the final battle on Axis where Char is still soundly defeated by Amuro, both rivals' Psycoframes react to one another and overload causing them to both disappear without a trace which also causes the raw explosion of psychic energy to halt the asteroid's advance into Earth. It can be assumed that both Char and Amuro were killed in that massive outburst of psychic energy. (In the novelization of Char's Counterattack, both characters are confirmed to be KIA.) However, even this is not enough to stop Char from returning -albeit as a clone- in Gaia Gear, a Yoshiyuki Tomino-penned novel series set later in the Universal Century timeline. Afranshia Char is a clone made by surviving Zeon remnants to lead them in an attempt to overthrow the Federation one last time, using the mighty Gaia-Gear man-machine suit. Mobile Suits (right)]] Apart from being an excellent commander, Char Aznable backs up his intellect and charisma through his experience as a mobile suit pilot. He pilots a mobile suit, commonly in his red and black color scheme with ruthless efficiency, at first doing it without a pilot suit on; though, after Lalah orders him to, he begins wearing a pilot suit throughout the Gryps and Neo Zeon conflicts. Some of the mobile suits that he piloted throughout the series are: *'MS-06C Zaku II'- mobile suit that he started out with at the beginning of the war, and won his ace status in at the battle of Loum. *'MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type' - high-performance mobile suit issued to ace pilots and team commanders such as him. *'MSM-07S Z'Gok Commander Type' - amphibious mobile suit, used by Char on the Jaburo Drop Operation. *'MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type' - the latest Zeon mobile suit incorporated in the last months of the war; special prototype given to ace pilots, damaged by Amuro Ray and the RX-78-2 Gundam at Side 5. *'MSN-02 Zeong' - a powerful Newtype mobile suit piloted during the battle of A Baoa Qu, the last one of the war. *'RMS-099 Rick Dias' - AEUG mass produced, heavy attack mobile suit, piloted by Char during the Gryps War until it was stolen by Franklin Bidan and later destroyed in a battle between Kamille Bidan . *'MSN-0100 Hyaku Shiki' - AEUG prototype, personalized high-performance attack mobile suit, piloted by Char to replace his destroyed Rick Dias. Contrary to his red trademark color, Hyaku Shiki is painted in bright gold yellow. *'MSN-04 Sazabi' - Char's personal mobile suit during the Second Neo Zeon War, designed to make full use of his Newtype powers. **Replaced by MSN-04II Nightingale in the novelization. It is noteworthy to mention that so far, Char is the only character in the Gundam universe (UC or non-UC timelines) to have fought in three final battles of a movie or series. In Mobile Suit Gundam, Char fights against Amuro Ray at A Baoa Qu. In the finale of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Char and Kamille Bidan fight together against Haman Karn (of Axis Zeon) and Paptimus Scirocco (of Titans) in a three-way battle (AEUG vs Titans vs Axis). Finally, Char's last battle is at the end of Char's Counterattack when he fights his arch-rival Amuro Ray again. Also, in the novel version of Mobile Suit Gundam starting in Book 2 to the end of Book 3, Char pilots a customized MS-09R Rick Dom. Char Clones Char Aznable is also responsible for spawning a series of "Char Clones", characters based off similar characteristics to Char, in Gundam. That character usually serves the same purpose as Char in the story, as the primary rival of either the main protagonist or a significant supporting character, sometimes also having blonde hair and is usually shrouded in mystery and wears a mask or sunglasses, pilots red mobile suits and sometimes has an extremist plan in mind (For example some of these "Char Clones" tried to force the people on Earth to migrate into space just like Char had tried to do). It is also a common theme for the "Char Clone" to be related to the female lead in some way. Sometimes the "clone" is the father, brother, former lover, etc. of the female lead. The term Char Clone is often used disparagingly, as if suggesting that the creative staff of the series lacked the creativity to come up with an original character and simply resorted to copying Char. It should be noted however that such characters usually end up moving away from their original base over the course of the respective series, developing into their own unique personas and roles, such that they can be easily seperated and distinguished from Char. * Full Frontal from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. A devote Char's fantatic who lead Neo Zeon after Char's disappearance. He is called "second coming of Char" and paints his personal MS red. Full Frontal is noted to have the same voice as Char Aznable and has similar facial features. It is later revealed that he is in fact a cyber-newtype, genetically altered to look like Char, with Char's memories implanted in him via the Psyco-frame, and as a result is the first canonical Char clone. * Carozzo Ronah, the main antagonist from Gundam F91. Besides holding similarities to Char, Carozzo also has noticeably several traits based off of Darth Vader of Star Wars fame, such as (and not limited to) cybernetic enhancements which includes mechnanically reinforced strength, a full mask that covers the entirety of his head along with a deep, mechanical voice, excessive height and build, and holding a subservant role to the resident "Emperor" of the Cosmo Babylonia, Meitzer Ronah. And similar to Vader being the father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, Carozzo is also known to have had two children (also a son and a daughter), Dorel and Berah. * Chronicle Asher'', ''lead antagonist of Victory Gundam. Though he definitely functions as the resident Char of the series, Chronicle noticeably has variations of the usual traits: he has red hair instead of blond, his mask is made of fabric instead of metal (similar to Kycilia Zabi's veil), and he wears the latter as part of his pilot gear instead of to disguise his true identity. He also pilots red mobile suits off and on, but does not seem to prefer red as his personal color, and like Char he has a familial connection to the main antagonist government, in this case being the younger brother of the Zanscare Empire's Queen Maria Pia Armonia (and uncle to her daughter Shakti Kareen). In terms of personality however, he seems to hold more in common with Zeta Gundam's Jerid Messa than with Char, and his rivalry with protagonist Uso Ewin also seems to borrow more from the former's rivalry with Kamille Bidan. * Schwarz Bruder and Ulube Ishikawa from G Gundam. Schwarz was a staple masked character who's identity was hidden from the protagonist through most of the series, while Ulube could be considered the ultimate villain of the show and also donned a faceplate to hide a scar. * Lancerow Dawell and Jamil Neate from After War Gundam X. Prior to the series' events, Lancerow piloted the MAN-002 Febral, a mobile armor very similar in design to the Zeong, and he could be considered the "Char" to Jamil's "Amuro". Jamil's connection to Char would be his sunglasses, mysterious past, and mentor status to the series protagonist, much like Char in Zeta Gundam. * Zechs Merquise, the 'Lightning Count' from Gundam Wing whose mobile suit Tallgeese is once described as "three times faster than an Aries". His life and role in the course of the series is essentially meant to be a retelling of Char's life, including a desire to retaliate for the death of his father and having a sister as the series' female lead, Relena Peacecraft. * Harry Ord and Corin Nander from ∀ Gundam. Harry sported sunglasses which, although quite eccentric, may be a reference to Char's Quattro Bajeena alias in Zeta Gundam. This is further accentuated by his custom gold-colored MRC-F20 SUMO. Corin had fewer direct references to Char, with the major one being his preference for red mobile suits. * Rau Le Creuset, the main villain from Gundam SEED as well as the first "direct" Char clone in a Gundam series since Zechs Merquise. While obviously borrowing many of Char's character traits, including blonde hair, mask, piloting mobile suits without a normal suit (initially) and "Newtype" senses, Rau is arguably a far more nefarious character than Char ever was. Whereas Char sought the preservation of humanity in outer space (before the events of CCA anyway), Rau only lived to destroy the human race in its entirety as revenge for his creation. On that, Rau also has a different background from usual Char-esque characters, in that he is a flawed and fanatical clone of a background character instead of being a direct representative of a philosophically influencial family or government. * Athrun Zala as 'Alex Dino', who played the role that is quite similar to Char's Quattro Bajeena persona in Zeta, and in addition he pilots mostly red Gundams, a signature trait of Char and some of his clones. His relationship with protagonist Kira Yamato also lightly mirrors Amuro and Char's rivalry, except that they managed to reconcile their initial friendship whereas the latter two remained enemies for the rest of their lives. *'Neo Roanoke', an initial antagonist in Gundam SEED Destiny, where he acted in the same role as Rau for a time before being "redeemed". His helmet is similar to the one Zechs Merquise wore in Gundam Wing, only his mask was black while Zechs' mask was white. *'Neyarl' (Hal Vizardt / Vladi Zarth in the English version) from Gundam: True Odyssey (MS Saga) * While not officially a Char Clone, Gilbert Durandal shares a similar version of Char's philosophy concerning the important role of genetics with his Destiny Plan just as Char attempted to drop Axis to force humanity to space to evolve to Newtypes, though it could be said Gilbert was legitimately dedicated to his goal whereas Char used the Axis drop merely as a cover for his true goal of settling things with Amuro. It is no surprise as they both share the same Japanese voice actor. * Graham Aker is a rival to the main protagonist of Gundam 00, Setsuna F. Seiei, and in the second season dons a mask as the top ace of the A-Laws faction called "Mr. Bushido". This is played as something of a parody of the Char Clone phenomenon, as the other A-Laws members are well aware of his true identity, and "Mr. Bushido" is a nickname (which Graham himself dislikes) rather than an alias. Graham's obsession with defeating Setsuna is also very similar to Char's antagonism towards Amuro. Most notably, both men were driven to fight their rivals on equal footing; in Graham's case, he sparred Setsuna on at least one occasion due to the 00 malfunctioning. Char similarly had purposely leaked information on the Psycoframe so that Amuro would not be at a disadvantage when the two eventually fought later in the film's finale. *An actual DNA clone from Char Aznable appeared in the story Gaia Gear (original novel by Yoshiyuki Tomino), named Afranshia Char. Cultural Significance Japanese pop culture holds Char Aznable in very much the same way Western pop culture views science fiction icons Darth Vader and Mr. Spock. Even many people who do not watch anime at least know the name. Char Aznable has routinely placed in the top 10 lists of popular characters in both Gundam-specific and general-oriented fan magazines in Japan, such as Gundam Ace and Animage, typically ranking higher than the main character and his rival, Amuro Ray. In Gundam Ace, Char is consistently in the top 3 of the list, and held the number 1 spot for long periods of time, despite the fact that Gundam Ace tallies votes for Char's alter-ego Quattro Bajina separately. In fact, Quattro also consistently ranks in the top 10. On the popular Japanese bulletin board 2channel, the Gundam forums are named Char custom (シャア専用), and the anonymous placeholder for the name is changed to "3 times more anonymous" (通常の名無しさんの３倍), a reference to the "3 times faster than a normal Zaku" line from the original series. Char Custom itself refers to Char's tendency to highly customize standard Mobile Suits to his exact specifications and generally making the said units far more potent than normal. This usually involves him coloring his suits red, which led some people to go as far as to label anything red "Char-custom", and to make vague references to the "3 times more potent" line in the original Gundam series (e.g. A red pencil might write 3 times faster, or is 3 times more likely to break). Bandai has capitalized on Char's popularity by licensing out his name to various products. There has been a Char-custom laptop, Char-custom Nintendo Gamecube, and a Char-custom motorbike helmet. All these products have a red satin finish, and have the goldleaf Zeon insignia or the emblem of Char's Neo-Zeon emblazoned on them. A Char-custom Game Boy Advance SP was also created in Japan (with many sources claiming its battery will last 3 times as long as the normal GBA, or even that it will crash 3 times as much). On July 25, 2006, GE Consumer Finance released a Char Custom credit card, which receives three times as many bonus points per 1000 yen spent compared to their other Gundam-related credit cards http://www.gecard.com/character/char.html. If one looks at popular Japanese culture as well, one can see the impact the Red Comet has made even outside of Gundam. For instance, one may note the characters of Ken Masters of the Street Fighter series and of Zero of the Mega Man series of video games, both of whom are crimson clad blondes who play the role of the "second main character" or "rival" to the protagonist. Another example could be Seifer Almasy of Final Fantasy VIII. Although not clad in red, Seifer bears a striking resemblance to Char as he appears in Char's Counterattack and has a scar across his forehead to symbolize his eternal rivalry to the games' protagonist Squall Leonhart. In fact, the symbol of a "Red Rival" has become one of Japanese pop cultures' most widely used archetypes. Even suggestions of Char's influence can be traced to Armored Core, in which, the ace pilot Nine Ball is known to sport red, and is the genre's mancing identity. Even Square-Enix, the role-playing game juggernaut, had a red-suited pilot figure in its mech RPG Xenogears in the form of the prince Bartholomew Fatima who himself was stripped from a seat of power and is almost an exact Char. Char is truly an iconic character to the Japanese. Still, the character is also popular with many hardcore American Gundam fans. It is American fans of the character who have promoted and mocked the "cloning" of the popular character in later Gundam shows. In particular is the notion of calling characters that are similar to Char as "A Char". This is derived from the poorly-written English text in the letter Hayato Kobayashi receives from Kai Shiden in the original box set English dub of Zeta Gundam, which includes the statement, "Captain Quattro, he is a CHAR_" In a planned spaceflight for 2006, Soyuz TMA-9, a Japanese internet investor named Daisuke Enomoto had asked to dress up as Char Aznable. However, medical restrictions prevented him from participating in the flight. An episode of the anime series School Rumble features an extended Gundam parody, most notably introducing a character named Harry McKenzie. Harry is modelled after Char, including his appearance (highly similar to Char's Quattro persona), sunglasses, penchant for wearing red, and ownership of a red motorcycle with the kanji "Hyaku" (from the MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki). Harry is friends with Tougou Masakazu, who resembles a younger Anavel Gato and shares Gato's penchant for rousing speeches. The second-season opening of the anime Genshiken is also a parody of Gundam, featuring the character Harunobu Madarame dressed in Char's uniform and helmet. Char is also derived from two real-world figures: His red color for personal mecha and skills as a pilot are a definite reference to Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, while his name was derived from the French popular singer Charles Aznavour. In the manga Air Gear, the artist Oh! Great tends to draw various mobile suit heads as storm rider helmets, in one occasion showing Char's helmet worn during the One Year War on a background character. In the live-action Japanese adaptation of the popular shōjo manga Hana-Kimi, a character named Sekime Kyōgo is apparently dressed up as Char to help woo the girl who is the target of his affections. The cosplay ploy is a success as the girl is a Gundam fan and considers Char to be a really cool character. Pics Gallery File:Gundam-char-aznable-hi-res-artbook.jpg File:CharAznableUC0093.jpg 1279663524896.jpg 1279663584771.jpg 1279663748561.jpg 1279675432766.jpg 1279715216313.jpg 1279758955815.gif 1279915509652.jpg File:Char-gundam-nt.jpg|Char pictured alongside the Char Custom NT Original Gundam featured in Newtype Magazine. 1279762385568.png|Char Aznable's personal emblem Notes & Trivia *In Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, on a certain mission, there is what is believed to be an insider joke. When Char (Char's Counterattack) battles Athrun (in the Infinite Justice Gundam), Char will say to Athrun: "You must be an Ace. I want you to fight with honor." Athrun will then reply: "Why would you think that I'm an Ace?", to which Char will answer: "Only an Ace would pilot a Mobile Suit of that color." This is probably due to the fact that both Char and Athrun seem to have a preference for red Mobile Suits. They also seem to prefer powerful melee-based Mobile Suits (as seen from Char's Zaku, Char's Gelgoog, Hyaku Shiki for Char and Justice/Infinite Justice for Athrun). *In Mobile Suit Gundam 00 there is a feature used by the Gundams known as the Trans-Am System. When activated the Mobile Suits using it begin to glow red and are able to move three times faster than normal. The shift in color while in Trans-Am, as well as the tripled statistics, are a homage to Char Aznable and his Commander Zaku. *In Zoids: New Century Zero, Naomi Fluegel also uses the alias "Red Comet". It is also mentioned in the second episode. *In the PS2/PSP version of Gihren no Yabou (Threat of Axis V), Char is the commander of two scenarios. the first Char's Neo Zeon, which follows the event in Char's Counterattack. The second is Casval's Neo Zeon, which is a what if case set during the One Year War. Both factions have the primary focus on Newtype pilots and weapons. In Casval's Neo Zeon, you have access to Newtype pilots along with soldiers that have worked alongside him during the the events of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime. External Links Aznable, Char Category:Zeta Gundam Characters